Section 56-3-9100 - South Carolina Technology Alliance license plates(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "South Carolina Technology Alliance" special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630 registered in their names, which may have imprinted on the plate an emblem, seal, logo, or other symbol that represents the South Carolina Technology Alliance and technology. The South Carolina Technology Alliance must submit to the department for approval the emblem, seal, logo, or other symbol it desires to be used for this special license plate. The South Carolina Technology Alliance may request a change in the emblem, seal, logo, or other symbol not more than once every five years. The special license plate must be issued or revalidated for a biennial period which expires twenty-four months from the month it is issued. The fee for this special license plate is the regular motor vehicle license fee contained in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title and a special motor vehicle license fee of one hundred dollars.(B) The remaining funds collected from the special motor vehicle license fee must be distributed to the South Carolina Technology Alliance for the continued development of high technology programs across the State and to provide resources for South Carolina Technology Entrepreneurs. The remaining funds must be administered by the South Carolina Technology Alliance, used only for efforts to develop and manage technology entrepreneur programs for South Carolina entrepreneurial high technology businesses, and deposited in an appropriate nonprofit account designated by the South Carolina Technology Alliance.(C) The department shall reserve the initial fifty license plates in this series for use by the South Carolina Technology Alliance.(D) Before the department produces and distributes a plate authorized under this section, it must receive:(1) four hundred or more prepaid applications for the special license plate or a deposit of four thousand dollars from the individual or organization seeking issuance of the license plate. If a deposit of four thousand dollars is made by an individual or organization pursuant to this section, the department must refund the four thousand dollars once an equivalent amount of license plate fees is collected for that organization's license plate. If the equivalent amount is not collected within four years of the first issuance of the respective license plate, the department must retain the deposit; and(2) a plan to market the sale of the special license plate which must be approved by the department.(E) If the department receives less than three hundred biennial applications and renewals for a particular special license plate authorized under this section, it shall not produce additional special license plates in that series. The department shall continue to issue special license plates of that series until the existing inventory is exhausted.2008 Act No. 347, Section 35, eff 6/16/2008; 2002 Act No. 237, Section 1.